Olivia Munn Says Kate Middleton Helped Her Articulate the Hidden Struggles After Cancer Treatment

Mian Hamid November 20, 2025

Olivia Munn Says Kate Middleton Helped Her Articulate the Hidden Struggles After Cancer Treatment

Olivia Munn says Kate Middleton’s recent reflections on her own cancer journey helped give voice to the emotions Munn has been struggling to express after completing breast cancer treatment.

The Princess of Wales, 43, who revealed in March 2024 that she was undergoing chemotherapy for an undisclosed type of cancer, spoke candidly about the emotional turmoil that comes after treatment. She described that stage as a time when “you put on a sort of brave face — stoicism through treatment — then treatment’s done, and you think, ‘I can crack on, get back to normal,’ but actually the phase afterwards is really, really difficult.”

Those words resonated deeply with Munn, 45. During her Nov. 19 appearance on Today with host Jenna Bush Hager, the actress admitted Kate Middleton’s honesty captured exactly what she had been feeling. “It was so great to hear her say it because I wasn’t able to put the words together myself,” Munn said. “I’ve been talking so much about breast cancer. The first part is hard, but a lot of people don’t talk about how hard the second part is. I didn’t know how to articulate it until I heard her say, ‘This part is hard, but the next part is even tougher — the part after the surgeries and everything else.’”

Munn added that hearing someone as influential as the Princess of Wales openly acknowledge the emotional fallout of cancer recovery brought her immense comfort. “I needed someone to articulate that,” she explained.

Kate had previously described the post-treatment phase as a confusing middle ground: “You’re not necessarily under the clinical team any longer, but you’re not able to function normally at home as you once used to. You have to find your new normal, and that takes time… and it’s a roller coaster—it's not smooth like you expect it to be. The reality is you go through hard times.”

Earlier this year, Princess Kate announced she was in remission and has since resumed a fuller schedule of public engagements.

In 2024, Olivia Munn revealed she had been diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer — a “very aggressive, fast-moving” form of the disease. Her treatment journey included five major surgeries: a double mastectomy in May 2023, reconstruction, a lymph node dissection, and a hysterectomy with oophorectomy, during which her uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries were removed. Following her surgeries, Munn and partner John Mulaney welcomed their second child via surrogate.

Since then, Munn has used her platform to advocate tirelessly for breast cancer awareness and early detection. In September, she was honored with the Excellence in Cancer Awareness Award at the 32nd Annual Action for Cancer Awareness Awards luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

More Celebrity Stories You’ll Love: Real People, Real Courage

Tags: